Hi there! My name is Zoe Hughes, and I am currently a Doctoral student in University College Cork. I began working on the Doctorate in Applied Social Science in 2017, alongside my work as Senior Policy & Research Officer with Care Alliance Ireland.
I have worked and volunteered in disability and family care services for over 20 years – I have qualifications in Social Policy, Social Work and Social Research. I began working with Care Alliance in 2015, leading the organisations policy and research work. As part of that work, I created the Discussion Paper Series, which aims to introduce difficult or taboo topics in family care into the research and policy dialogue. To date, I have written papers on role reversal and intellectual disability (when a person with a disability becomes the carer), the impact of family care on carers romantic and sexual lives, stigma and family care, and difficult relationships within family care, along with numerous others. I am proud to say that my presentation of the series, and the series itself, won the Inaugural “Research Contribution to Practice” Award at the All Ireland Research in Social Work Conference 2019.
One of the most interesting papers I wrote as part of that series, and which influenced my choice of research project for my Doctorate, was titled “Minority Population and Family Care“. I discovered during the process that no research has been undertaken in Ireland regarding the experiences of gender and sexual minority family carers. Family carers in Ireland are presumed to be white, Catholic, female and heterosexual, with supports and services generally designed with this cohort in mind.
As someone who is a former family carer, and a member of the queer community, I decided that my Doctoral research should address this knowledge gap.
When I am not working or studying, I am involved with the “Queer Cabaret” scene in Dublin, which counts drag kings, drag queens, pinups and burlesque dancers amongst our ranks! I’m also a member of Irelands first LGBTQ+ basketball team, The Shamrock Siogas, and I try to make sure that our rescue cat Luna and our rescue dog Jasper, who adopted my wife and I, are kept in a manner to which they have become accustomed!
Queer Caring 